Final Voyage

The World's Worst Maritime Disasters

De: Jonathan Eyers

Narrado por: Matthew Waterson

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but in terms of loss of life that catastrophe doesn't even figure as one of the 50 worst maritime disasters of the last three hundred years. The causes of disaster are legion: besides icebergs and enemy torpedoes, ships have been sunk by fire, explosions, flooding, capsizing, storms, collisions and human error.

Ships featured include: Wilhelm Gustloff - how history forgot the 10,000 killed. Lancastria - why Britain's worst disaster was covered up. Mont Blanc - the ship that destroyed a city. Sultana - triumph and tragedy on the Mississippi. Dona Paz - the deadliest disaster in living memory.

With disasters from all over the world, these are stories of the people - whether they lived or died - as well as the ships. They are stories of tragedy, war, heroism and cowardice, greed and sacrifice. Only for the lucky few were they also stories of rescue and survival.

©2013 Jonathan Eyers (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Hard To Get Through But Good Information

This book was hard to get into. The narrator is dry. The shipwreck information was both interesting and heartbreaking. I'm glad I "read" this book, but it was hard to get through bc it was dryly written.

A Captivating Listen

What made the experience of listening to Final Voyage the most enjoyable?

Like a masterful storyteller at a dinner party the author recounts the intriguing details of each disaster without getting bogged down providing an exhaustive litany of names, dates, and non-pertinent historical asides. This book is very captivating a casual listener like myself.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Final Voyage?

One particularly startling story in the book is that of the collision in the Halifax Harbor of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French vessel carrying a dangerous cargo of explosives and the Norwegian SS Imo. This accident resulted in the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons.

Not worth the time

Very dry. Even if you are interested in the subject of maritime disasters it is a slog. The narrator helps, but only just.